Patty Aker
Patty Aker is a fiber artist, with a focus on silk painting.
Her esthetic leans toward simple, modern, and colorful compositions, reflecting on nature. She is influenced by artists such as David Hockney, Sonia Delaunay, Matisse, and Picasso.
Aker enjoys designing abstracts with an organic slant, working with layers of paint and resists, employing different techniques to build on texture. Whilst simple to employ, the paints are uncontrollable upon touching the silk and take on a life of their own, swirling, pushing, and merging into contortions of vibrant color. The dye flow is tamed by various methods, and the result is always a visual, textural surprise. Occasionally, poetry or the written word is included to complete a piece. Her latest works are quilted and collaged and reflect on our fragile environment and the impact humans have on the earth.
Aker has exhibited in many juried, group, and solo shows. Her favorite aspect of art is experimenting in her studio and conducting workshops at various art venues, including the John Michael Kohler Art Center and Plymouth Art Center. She also enjoys encouraging students as an artist-in-residence: twice at Friendship Elementary School in North Fond Du Lac; at Wilson Elementary School, Sheboygan; at North High School, Sheboygan, in 2017/18; and twice at South High School, Sheboygan, in 2018/19 and 2023.
The Aroha Art Links fiber art course, taught at the beginning of 2020 at the John Michael Kohler Art Center, influenced her new art path and expanded the possibilities of silk fiber art.
